Strawberry or Chocolate?
by Animad345
Summary: Ryou is swiftly falling in love with shy Lettuce, so pandemonium is sure to ensue when fiery leader Ichigo starts craving his attention. But how can these three focus on their love lives when every one around them are having problems of their own?
1. First Move

**I really wanted to write a story about the rivalry between Lettuce and Ichigo.**

**Not because I hated either of those characters, but because the issue of Ryou was never explored in the main story.**

**I really hope that you enjoy! ^_^**

***

_Lettuce picked up her horoscope for that day. Her star sign being Cancer, she quickly scanned through the pages._

_Cancer- Don't question your feelings. Today is the day to make them clear. Only you can make the decision, but whether these actions will result in joy, sadness or anger, you cannot leave them be a moment longer._

***

Lettuce leaned against the counter at Cafe Mew Mew. It had been a really long day and she was exhausted. "RETATSU-RIN?!" Ichigo screeched.

"Yeah, Ichigo?" Lettuce replied sleepily. "YOU'RE AT WORK!!!! Hey, usually you're such a great worker! Turn up the pep, Lettuce! You know that we can't rely on the others," Ichigo joked, smiling dizzily.

Lettuce turned around to see Mint enjoying a cup of tea, Pudding breaking all the dishes in her craziness and Zakuro discussing confidential things with her agent.

She sighed. "Ok, Ichi-kun, I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm just a little confused about things right now." Ichigo felt worried for her friend. "Well... If you ever want to talk about it, you know that I'm here."

"Thanks so much Ichi-kun," Lettuce grinned. Ichigo beamed, and then did a Ryou impression- "Now you're on floor duty. Clean it good!!"

Funny how friendships could turn around so quickly.

***

It was a few hours later and Ryou's business-first-fun-later voice was ordering everybody around. "Ok, that's it. You can all go home now." Lettuce looked up, her beautiful eyes staring right into Ryou's.

A mini stapede formed as Tokyo Mew Mew all struggled to escape from the cafe. Except Lettuce. "Shirogane... I really have to tell you some thing," Lettuce said calmly, her voice a tiny squeak.

Ryou nodded, and took her into another room. "Fire away, Midorikawa." He was very curious. "Th-the truth is, I've... really loved you... for a long time... And I've been unable to telly ou because I was so worried... but...."

Lettuce's voice trailed off as Ryou placed his finger on her mouth. "No more words, Midorikawa." Ryou's expression was unreadable. Lettuce's heart did a free-fall. What a way to get rejected! She fought back tears as she ran outside of Cafe Mew Mew.

She didn't stay long enough to hear Ryou's soft answer. "And I think I love you too, Lettuce."


	2. Just Maybe

**Did you enjoy the first chapter? I hope so! :)  
Here's the next chapter- this one contains some RxI. I will try to alternate both RxL and RxI to keep it interesting. ;)**

*******

_Ichigo popped a strawberry in her mouth as she flicked through her magazine, quickly finding the horoscope page. Her eyes fell upon her sign, Taurus._

_Taurus- Whether you're in love or in a relationship, you're sure that the guy is the one for you. But look around- there may be better guys around who will treat you a lot better then your current love._

***

Ichigo crouched beneath Cafe Mew Mew, out of sight. She was bemused as she saw Lettuce runnning off, crying her eyes out. Then it hit her. "Shirogane... You didn't? She didn't? Oh my God!"

Ichigo leapt up. Her only thought were for her friend. The daily horoscope flickered in her mind but she tried to ignore it. She darted into the Cafe. "SHIROGANE, GET OUT HERE RIGHT NOW!"

As she slowly wandered out, Ichigo gasped. There were tears in his eyes too. "Ryou, tell me what happened. Retatsu-rin confessed, didn't she?"

Ryou could only nod. "And you said?" Ichigo asked softly. A tear escaped out of Ryou's eye. "You didn't say ANYTHING?" Ichigo was prepared to explode.

"Do you like her or not? IT'S A SIMPLE QUESTION!" Ryou still said nothing, blinking at her. A thought ran across Ryou's head as much as he fought to block it. 'That depends on you.' But he didn't say it.

Ichigo's horoscope firmly placed itself it her mind's eye. She suddenly forgot about every thing and poured out the truth. "You know, I've really missed you, Shirogane. Have you missed me?"

Ryou shrugged. "I honestly..." he began to speak. "...do not know. It's just been... confusing." Ichigo nodded at that. "This is going to sound like such a cliche... But... Can we still be friends?"

"Sure, sure," Ryou waved the statement away. "Right now, I need to apologise to Lettuce. Catch you later, Momomiya."

Ichigo felt a wave of relief pass through her as she skipped back home. But there was an aching feeling in her throat. She knew that she did not want to be friends with this guy. She wanted to be more. But what about Masaya? What about Lettuce?

She tripped over a jagged rock in the park and cut her leg harshly. But that wasn't why she was crying.


	3. Change Of Heart

**I felt like carrying this on today, so here is the next installment!**

**Midorikawa-chan, it's your turn!! ^_^**

**This chapter is pretty short but I tried to capture a bit of realism and sweetness in the conversation between Ryou and Lettuce.**

*******

_Lettuce ran home and threw herself onto her bed. She cried her heart out, before falling asleep. The next morning she was cursing the daily horoscope with full gusto, but couldn't resist checking up her star sign anyay._

_Cancer- When the world turns its back on you, you turn your back on the world! You are full of rage, but how can that help? You may get some surprising, if happy, news today._

***

Lettuce was so incredibly embarassed. She kept hesitating outiside of the door of Cafe Mew Mew. 'What should I do? What can I say? How can I...'

"You should come inside," Ryou pushed open the door. "Lettuce." Suddenly Lettuce filled with rage. How dare he reject her and then suddenly get on a first name basis with her? How DARE he?

"Would you just SHUT UP Ryou!" A cruel streak shot through her like a lightning bolt. "I don't need your sympathy. You made every thing quite clear, yesterday-"

"NO, I didn't," Ryou's voice was measured and maddeningly calm. "I didn't." Lettuce's eyes blazed with confusion.

"Lettuce, will you go out with me? I would be honoured to have you as my girlfriend."

Lettuce felt her heart stop and had no idea of how to react. "We'll talk about this later-"

"No," Ryou grabbed her wrist. "We'll talk about this now." And he pulled her into his arms, a warm solid embrace.

"Please, give me another chance," Ryou said quietly.

"Ok... on one condition..." Lettuce was so happy she could hardly contain herself, but she tried to maintain a perfectly composed look.

"Any thing, Lettuce! Any thing," Ryou was grinning like a maniac.

"Stop calling me Lettuce, ok?! You being so warm and welcoming doesn't really suit you."

The smile fell off Ryou's face, but slid back on a moment later when Lettuce burst out laughing.

"I'll keep that in mind. Now, back to work, Midorikawa!"

***

Ichigo gasped. "No WAY!"

"What is it, Ichigo-nee?" Pudding cried. "Is Lettuce in love, na no da?!"

"Pudding, go do the dishes and I'll give you some of my wages next week!" Ichigo said quickly.

"Sure thing, Ichiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-" she jumped off the table and landed cleanly on top of the cash register to take some people's orders. "-go!"

"But any way, back to reality... NO WAY!" Ichigo gasped again, trying to recreate the atmosphere of a few seconds before.

What she got, though, was Lettuce giggling weakly. "I know! Amazing, eh?!"

"You've defrosted Shiro-baka's hard heart!" Ichigo smiled.

"Oi, I heard that!" Ryou yelled from the kitchen.

Ichigo grinned fondly, but felt her heart freeze completely as she registered every thing.

"I'm going to talk to Ryou about my much deserved raise!" Ichigo lied, beaming, as she strolled into the kitchen, carefully checking herself in the mirror before she went.

She was going to sort this out, once and for all.

And she wouldn't take 'no' for an answer.

*******

**To Ichigo fans-**

**Don't worry, I wasn't trying to make her seem cruel in those last lines.**

**What happened is that she is starting to like Ryou and wants to settle it with him. **

**Want to know what happens?**

**Review and I'll update! ^_^**


	4. Pandemonium

**You may have noticed that I've changed the description of this story slightly.**

**I want to include some of other characters and their stories, so this chapter I'm bringing out Zakuro and Keiichiro! :D Next time it could be Pudding and Taruto, Minto and some aliens... Who knows? **

**For certain, though, I will try to get all the main characters in somehow. ;)**

**Hope you enjoy! ^_^ Tried to incooperate some of my previous knowledge of japanese:**

**Wakarimasen= I don't understand**

**Gomen= Short version of saying 'Sorry'**

**Dai Jou Bou?= Are you ok?**

*******

_Ichigo flopped onto her bed. 'Horoscopes? Yeah, why not...'_

_Taurus- Don't be selfish! There are others around you who need more attention. Be sensible and sensitive, and though these qualities are hard for Tauruses to mix, you're sure to be successful!  
_

_***_

Ichigo stomped right into the kitchen. "SHIROGANE, I NEED TO TALK TO-" she yelled and stopped mid-sentence, as she and Ryou heard a sob from the kitchen next door.

They both darted over to the place, and found Zakuro crying and Keiichiro watching in astonishment. "I'll take care of this," he said firmly, shutting the door and forcing them out.

But Ichigo's previous intentions had well and truly cracked. Ryou imitated her, "MOMOMIYA, YOU NEED TO TALK TO- me about what?!"

"Oh, haha, very droll!" Ichigo said sarcastically, but a small grin formed on her face. Ryou beamed back. "OH!" she suddenly shrieked, looking at her watch.

"Aoyoma-kun!" she ran like a mad-woman right outside the cafe, tranformed into Mew Ichigo for speed and took off.

"That girl," Ryou shook his head. "Wakarimasen- she is crazy." He smiled fondly before closing the door. He wondered how Keiichiro was dealing with their coolest and usually most composured member of Tokyo Mew Mew.

***

Zakuro shyly strolled into the kitchen where Keiichiro was working on a giant chocolate cake. "Fujiwara-san!" Keiichiro's hand shook in surprise and he sent icing all across his beautiful italic writing.

"Gomen," Zakuro said softly. Keiichiro nodded, quickly correcting it and giving her an inside-melting smile. He was so sweet, she didn't want to be around him any longer or she'd say some thing she shouldn't.

"I-I need to go..." Zakuro hurriedly muttered, before making a break for the kicthen door. But Keiichiro caught her hand first.

"Ah! Asaka-san!" Zakuro protested. "No, Zakuro-san. Dai Jou Bou?" Keiichiro's voice was soothing, but she couldn't tell him, she just couldn't. It would break his heart.

His hands slid into her pockets, where a piece of crumpled paper resided. "DON'T!" Zakuro retaliated, throwing out her hands aimlessly, desperate to get it back.

"Asaka-san... don't read it..."

Suddenly she burst into tears, a strangled sob. Ryou and Ichigo were in the kitchen within two seconds, wondering what had happened.

Keiichiro sent them away. He needed to talk to her alone. "Zakuro..." He leaned in and she kissed him, very lightly, but it was like a dream.

She smelt of freshly mown grass and his lips were faintly chocolatey against hers. Then he pulled away, gently opening the paper.

Zakuro gave up. "Read it," she said in tears. "I'm finished."

And Keiichiro's lips went dry as he read the sordid newspaper article.

***

Ichigo ran all the way across the field, away from Cafe Mew Mew. She wondered whether Ryou had been fooled by her fake 'AOYOMA-KUN!' speech.

In actual fact, she was disappointed when she noted the time, and realised that she was five minutes late for her date.

She wanted to stay at Cafe Mew Mew, to be able to watch her boss and maybe even talk to him, maybe convince him that Lettuce was definitely _not _the one for him.

But why would she hurt a friend like that? But HOW would she do it? 'I'm so sorry, Retatsu-rin...' she whispered into the breeze.

***

And in all the commotion, Pudding had sneaked out to see her very secret friend...


	5. Shock Wave

**Ok, Saba's Reflection alerted me to the fact that I have some explaining to do...**

**1) Zodiac signs. I didn't look these up- I made them up. Ichigo is stubborn and headstrong, but kind hearted- she seemed a lot like a Taurus. Lettuce is sweet and caring, but overly sensitive at times- just like a Cancer. I didn't really want to bother looking them up. ;)**

**2) '-kun.' Any one who has read Fruits Basket knows that Tohru is sometimes called 'Tohru-kun' because Tohru is a boy's name. If there is any one who has read School Rumble or Mamotte! Lollipop they will know that 'Ichi' can be used as a boy's name also. So when Lettuce shortens Ichigo's name, she can still call her '-kun.'**

**3) There is no specific 'motto' to my story. Mine is a twisted tale, aimed to surprise you and shock you. ;) Haha. There is no real evidence that supports the whole 'friends over boys' thing, although I think that a boyfriend is some one you should obviously BE good friends with to succeed in your relationship.**

**Hope that answered your questions! :) x**

*******

Lettuce flipped open her horoscope, and was stunned to read...

_'Cancer: You're jumping for joy now, but what's around the corner? Are you neglecting your friends?'_

***

"Midorikawa- you're late," Ryou cocked his head to one side. "You alright?"

Lettuce was always extremely punctual, and he was worried.

She breathed in deeply, putting on a giant grin. Ryou felt his heart thud a little faster. She had such a beautiful smile.

But inside, she felt far from happy. Her insides were melting for Ryou, but in a really awful way.

She just couldn't get the daily horoscope out of her mind. Just when things were going right for her...

Why?...

She glanced over to the kitchen window, where Keiichiro and Zakuro appeared to be arguing fiercely.

Her eyes widened. "Ryou..." she paused. "What the heck is going on?"

His face dropped. Suddenly she was completely jarred out of her own misery.

She felt possessed, as if some thing had taken her over.

She sprinted towards the kitchen door and heaved open the door.

"Go on," whispered Keiichiro, his voice full of sadness. "Tell her."

Zakuro trembled again. "No."

"Fujiwara..."

"I CAN'T!" she screeched, pain etched onto her face. "Lettuce... I'm sorry... I..."

"Please, Zakuro-san." Lettuce's voice was soft. She felt like she was talking to a timid sparrow, and that if she went too close, that Zakuro would flee.

Then Zakuro ran, right out the door.

"Asaka-san...?" Lettuce muttered, slightly frightened.

He smiled at her weakly. "Lettuce... she's pregnant."

Lettuce's mouth went dry. "S-so... that newspaper article?..."

"The press found out somehow..."

"W-who's the father...?"

Asaka paused, for far too long.

"I am."

*******

Short chapter, I know.

By the way, I wasn't trying to create an easy escape with Zakuro being pregnant or any thing.

I fully intend to keep up the strict realism within my story.

I hope that you were surprised, and maybe intrigued by the sudden twist.

Please, please, please review, or I cannot write any more!!!


	6. Ryou's Choice

_Ichigo opened up her magazine and skimmed through the text._

_Taurus: It's never too late to get your way! Try every thing, any thing, to get what you want, and if that means treading on a few peoples' feet then that's the risk you'll have to take._

She wandered into Cafe Mew Mew, her chin up, her eyes sparkling. Ryou watched her as she made her way into the Cafe. "Momomiya," he said quietly. "That is hardly the proper attire for working. Trying to impress Masaya?"

Ichigo smiled weakly. She had hitched up her dress with a belt so that it barely covered her panties. She was wearing see-through, lacy tights which she had borrowed off of Mint. She had gone overboard with the make-up that day. Long, spiky eyelashes, red lips and blusher that made her face look ten times more attractive. Ryou tried to ignore it, but even he of superhuman restraint wasn't sure what to do when she bent over to look at the menus in his hand.

"What are you playing at, Momomiya? That skirt barely covers any thing."

"As if you're not enjoying it?"

Silence.

"I beg your pardon?" Ryou's generally calm voice was agitated, strained.

"You like it, don't you? I bet if Lettuce dressed like this you wouldn't mind."

"Lettuce wouldn't. She has too much respect for herself."

Ichigo flinched, as if he had slapped her. She walked closer to him, so that her face was just inches away from his. "You're just toying with Lettuce, aren't you? Let's be honest here. You don't want to break her heart. But I know you've liked me for a long time."

Ryou's head was playing up, and a thundering jolt of pain stopped him from replying for a few moments. "What?"

Ichigo leaned over to kiss him and, instinctively, he leaned forward. She pulled back like a viper. "See?"

"Ichigo... stop this now..." He looked around, worriedly. "The others will be here any moment."

Ichigo smiled. "Mint is always late, Pudding called in sick, Zakuro isn't going to be here after that scandal in the newspaper..."

"Ichigo, what are you implying?"

"... Keichiro won't think any thing of it. All he'll think is that you're calling me into your office to give me a tongue lashing about my untidiness. And he'll be right."

"What is WRONG with you? What about Masaya? What about Lettuce?"

"What is wrong with YOU? You just can't deal with spontaneity, that's your problem. I'll wait for you in there. If you want to be a boy scout then I suppose you can go over to Keichiro and get me fired. Or, of course, there's the other option. Be a man."

"It's manly to give into a person's natural impulses? That's weakness."

"No one ever has to know," Ichigo said quickly. It was like she had turned a key in his mind. He looked up, his eyes full of emotions, none of which she could make out.

"5 minutes. 5 minutes tops for you to explain every thing. That's it."


End file.
